Parliament is expected to debate at a later date the committee reports on the National Flag Protection Bill and Coats of Arms Bill.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights – Ashneel Sudhakar today submitted the two reporting highlighting its features.

The National Flag Protection Bill is a first for Fiji

“The bill has some notable features such as section 6, which provides for the rights and responsibilities of displaying the flag, section 8 which makes desecration of the flag an offense, section 14 which provides the mechanism for any further change to the flag, once declared, under section 16 which provides for penalties for offense under the bill particular for desecration and misuse of the flag, the penalties are in line with the accepted principals of other jurisdictions.”

For the Coat of Arms Bill, the proposed legislation outlines the need for a new coat of arms that is representative of Fiji as an independent sovereign state.

In tabling, Sudhakar noted that the coat of arms bill has more severe penalties than that of the national flag protection bill because of its national symbolism.